Suzanne Elston

Consider the slogan, "Cancer can be beaten." For decades, these four words have driven a huge multi-billion dollar anti-cancer machine. Corporations, drug companies, government agencies and non-governmental organizations have rallied around the dream of defeating cancer. The Terry Fox Run, The Run for the Cure and other fundraising campaigns have at their centre the goal of beating cancer. But critics say that the very companies that sponsor these events are partially responsible for the dramatic increase in cancer. Noranda, Inco and Falconbridge, all major donors to the Canadian Cancer Society, are also on the list of the top ten polluting companies releasing known carcinogens into the environment.

In recent years, activists are beginning to question this deal with the devil and are asking why the war on cancer needs to be fought in the first place. Led by cancer survivors and health and environmental activists, fuelled by personal experience, they dare to suggest that cancer can be prevented.

Increasingly, science is on their side. We know that ten percent of all cancers can be linked to heredity. The remaining 90 percent can be attributed to environment and lifestyle factors. But direct environmental triggers such as smoking and exposure to recognized carcinogens like asbestos and ultraviolet radiation only account for about half of these cancers.

Those who fight for cancer prevention believe that the remaining diseases are triggered by a toxic soup of environmental contaminants. For example, while smoking is the most frequent cause of lung cancer, 21 of 22 lung carcinogens recognized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have been detected in workplace settings. And a recent American study showed that a typical middle-aged, non-smoking North American has an average of 53 known carcinogens in his or her body. (The Environmental Working Group has recently published a study of the 167 chemicals found in a test group of adults. Shocking stuff. Go to www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden/)

According to renowned cancer expert Dr. Anthony Miller, Chair of the 1995 Ontario Task Force on the Primary Prevention of Cancer, at least 50 per cent of all cancers can be prevented. In other words, if we applied everything that we already know about prevention we could evade over 80,000 cancers in Canada this year alone and in doing so save the lives of more than 30,000 people. Instead, cancer rates continue to rise dramatically. By 2010, the Canadian Cancer Society predicts that cancer will overtake heart disease as the most common cause of death in Canada.

The problem is money. The cynical opinion is that much of the funding that drives cancer research comes from the very drug companies that are most likely to benefit from ongoing cancer treatment. So while billions of dollars are poured into finding a cure for cancer, less than five percent of our annual research dollars is spent on prevention.

In the Spring of 2004, Liz Armstrong, Sarah Dobec and Loretta Michaud organized the First Annual Run, Walk & Roll for Cancer Prevention. Under the umbrella of the 30th National Capital Race Weekend, this special event was held in Ottawa, May 28th to 30th, to raise funds to educate all Canadians — including our political leaders — to learn about and then take action for cancer prevention.

The goal was to have 100 participants, each with $2,000 in sponsorships, for a first year fundraising total of $200,000. In the end, they got about 50 participants and raised about $50,000 — not bad for a first effort and very encouraging for 2005. The Race Weekend takes place on the last weekend of May (this year, May 27th to 29th) and will again offer everything from a full marathon (42K), half marathon (21K), both 10K and 5K races, 5K and 10K walks, a half marathon for wheelchair participants, and half and full marathons for inline skaters. The terrain is fairly flat (important to beginning runners and walkers) and thousands of Ottawa folk line the routes to cheer the participants on. According to organizer Armstrong, it's a cordial, fun, supportive environment.

Some funds raised in 2004 and 2005 are being directed to the research, writing and promotion of a book on cancer prevention tentatively entitled, "Cancer 101: Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic", by Liz Armstong and Guy Dauncey. Some is also being used by the Saunders-Matthey Cancer Prevention Coalition, in conjunction with other labour, environment, health and citizens' groups, to plan a major cancer prevention conference for the Spring or Fall of 2006.

The Run, Walk & Roll for Cancer Prevention is not the only event that focuses on prevention. In Long Island, a group of activists came together a few years ago to stage an annual "Prevention Is The Cure" March. It was this initiative that inspired Breast Cancer Action Montreal to sponsor their annual March which started in 2002 and was celebrated for the third year on October 17th, 2004.

Women who walk or run on a regular basis reduce their risks of developing breast cancer or of experiencing a recurrence. How fitting that walking or running should be the way to promote the need to prevent breast cancer before it starts.

This article is based on a weekly column, Your Earth, written by Suzanne Elston and appearing in a number of papers in the Greater Toronto Area. It originally appeared in February 2004 and has been updated, with permission, by Janine O'Leary Cobb, with information provided by Liz Armstrong. Anyone interested in participating in the 2005 Run, Walk & Roll for Cancer Prevention in Ottawa in May 2005 should contact Liz Armstrong at liz@ican.net